Warning! Spoilers for Justice League #52 by Jeff Loveness, Robson Rocha, Daniel Henriques, Romula Fajardo Jr., and Tom Napolitano.
In Bruce Wayne. Thankfully, Superman is around to help him out.
The Black Mercy has been penetrating the minds of the free from the parasitic plant, but the effects were definitely not temporary.
Flash forward to this latest issue of Justice League, and the Black Mercy has invaded Batman's mind as he finds himself transported to a world in which his parents never died. However, one of the most interesting plot points within this issue does not come directly from Batman's experience, but from a later conversation between him and Superman. Knowing what he has just gone through on a personal level, Clark attempts to comfort Bruce. He states that he "tried to run from it for so long," but inevitably grew happy with the world around him. No longer does a perfect world exist only in his imagination; his life is exactly how he wants it to be.
This interaction leaves a lot open to interpretation. He does not tell Bruce the details of what exactly has given him this closure, and readers don't get a lot of insight into his deep desires at this point in time. One thing all fans know for sure is that every hero needs a villain, and Superman surely has his fair share. The tumultuous nature of his crime-fighting career has pinned him up against every evil imaginable. Day after day, he takes on every crime-inducing bad guy brought his way. Therefore, one can assume that Superman's perfect world is one that still needs him to do so.
The paradox here brings up a not-often-discussed complication within the entire concept of superheroes and their missions. Each hero has something to fight for. For Superman, he defendswhen he lost his own family. One would guess that he could not possibly be content with the chaos and evil haunting the world around him, and yet, he tells Batman that he could not wish for more.
The statement simplifies Superman's mission more than ever. If he does not fight to end all injustice, what does he fight for? Despite his superhuman abilities, the last son of Krypton's emotions and desires hold complexity, just as any human. The majority of his life has been devoted to being Superman rather than Kal-El or Clark Kent. It is possible that he holds an attachment to the mission he fights for. If all were to end in sunshine and rainbows, where would that leave our hero?
And maybe this message holds true for Bruce Wayne as well. Tragedy as a child led him to a life of fighting crime; he lacks the ability to comprehend a life devoid of this mission. It may explain his refusal to turn in the Batman title, despite the pleading of the Black Mercy-induced pleas of his mother.
These heroes have devoted their lives to creating a better world. By doing so, they have found a purpose in the personas they have created, but this isn't a curse or flaw. Just because our heroes find contentment in fighting evil does not mean they secretly hope for anarchy. They believe in the importance of their missions wholeheartedly. This world still needs a Superman, just as Superman needs a world to fight for; perhaps, that is completely okay.
